The growth system comes at the age of 30

Chapter 321 First Place at the National Exhibition! (4.7K words, free)

at the same time.

Li Wenhui is about to start school and is preparing to head to school for registration.

As previously speculated, she was successfully admitted to the Chemical Engineering program at Nanjing University of Science and Technology, fulfilling her wish to stay in the province and study at a 985 university.

Good luck.

Fewer people apply for chemical engineering majors, so the competition isn't as fierce as for popular engineering fields.

Chen Jingle didn't let her family see her off; she simply accompanied her aunt to the high-speed rail station and watched her go through the ticket check and enter the station.

For a young girl who has never left Jiangbei since childhood, going to school alone to register is quite a challenge.

To this end, Chen Jingle prepared a college freshman guide for her.

From how to take transportation to how to get along with classmates, and how to guard against fire, theft, and upperclassmen, everything was written down clearly. Coupled with the various preparations she made before departure, I believe she will have a great start to her university life.

An older brother can't help her forever; she has to walk the rest of the road by herself.

As long as you don't go astray, it's fine.

Teacher Li and Chen Qiyun are also preparing for the start of the new semester.

In the new semester, Chen Qiyun officially became a ninth-grade student. This academic year will be much more demanding than before. Hopefully, she can keep up and maintain her previous academic level.

……

The branch near No. 1 Middle School is doing even better business than Chen Jingle had expected.

Yes, the only word to describe it is "incredibly popular"!
After the reputation of braised pork rice spread among the middle school students, those students would rush to the store as soon as get out of class was over, as if they were starving, and devour the food!
In addition, some people who had previously tried Chen Ji Braised Pork Rice near the Teachers' College decided to come and check out the branch that had opened near No. 1 Middle School.

Once the word got around that the two restaurants tasted pretty much the same, even more people lined up to eat there!

This made the other fast food restaurants in the area green with envy.

It's only been open for a few days, and it's already this popular!

If the store weren't so small, the surrounding fast food restaurants would probably be under even greater pressure to survive.

Except for the first two days when my second uncle and aunt prepared smaller portions, from the third day onwards, the store's daily sales volume was already comparable to that of the Teachers' College store.

Correspondingly, my second uncle's family was so busy that they couldn't even keep their feet on the ground, and it was hard not to adapt to the pace as soon as possible.

Fortunately, after closing time, seeing the day's revenue made me feel less tired.

Even after deducting Chen Jingle's share of the profits, his family still earned more than when they were working.

Because of the high turnover rate, Auntie even considered making more braised meat to sell more, since there are seven or eight thousand students in the school, and nearly half of them are boarding students.

However, my second uncle did not agree.

He felt that with the current situation, he was already a bit too busy to handle everything, and doing more would only exhaust him. There was no need for that; he needed to leave some time to rest.

Second Aunt had no choice but to give up.

If they can hold on for another year or two, their situation will be several times better than it is now.

Jinghao is not young anymore. In a few years, he will need to find a partner and buy a house and a car. With this small shop, it shouldn't be a problem.

Thinking of this, my second uncle's family was full of energy.

……

A few days later, the results of the China Youth Cup calligraphy and painting competition, in which Chen Jingle had previously participated, were finally released.

The staff called to congratulate him on winning the first prize in this year's China Youth Cup Calligraphy Exhibition, as well as a collection fee of 1000 yuan.

There's not much to say about collection fees. Most creators are aiming for exhibitions or rankings. Once they've built up enough experience, they naturally won't have to worry about raising their fees.

Although Chen Jingle was not happy, the rules were set by others, and he had read the rules beforehand before choosing to participate.

The key point is this first prize.

As far as he knows, there is only one first prize in both the calligraphy and painting categories of this year's China Youth Cup.

They're actually willing to give it to him?

hiss~
Chen Jingle's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

After hanging up the phone, Li Beixing, who was next to him, asked excitedly, "Wow, it really is the first prize?"

"Well, I was lucky. I thought I'd be lucky to get a third prize."

Chen Jing chuckled and happily reached out to pick her up and spin her around.

"so amazing!"

Li Beixing cheered with delight, hugged Chen Jingle tightly, and laughed non-stop, even happier than if she had won first place herself.

Previously, in the comments section of Chen Jingle's Douyin account, she saw people saying that he had no awards, was undeserving of the title, and did not deserve such a high price.

Now that we've won first place at the National Exhibition, let's see who dares to complain!
The two were happy for quite a while before they calmed down.

At this moment, Professor Xie Nanyan also sent a message: "Congratulations, Xiao Chen! First prize in the China Youth Cup, that's amazing! You should know that the number of places in the China Youth Cup was reduced this year, and there was only one first prize in the calligraphy category. To fight your way out from thousands of people, your strength is truly undeniable!"

Chen Jingle replied modestly, "It was just luck. I really have to thank you for your help, Professor."

Professor Xie: "Hey, saying it's luck is too modest. Besides, how could I help? Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. This is a national exhibition held in Hunan. I've seen your work, and compared to others, this first place is well-deserved. Although the participants in the China Youth Cup are all young calligraphers and painters, the top few, in terms of hard skills, are already on par with those famous artists. In another five or ten years, the field of calligraphy and painting will depend on you young people."

"We still need to learn more from our seniors," Chen Jingle replied politely.

"..."

After exchanging a few polite words, the two ended their conversation.

Professor Xie Nanyan suggested that he could continue to participate in several national exhibitions in the second half of the year to see if he could win more awards.

He didn't refuse.

He'll participate if he has time, otherwise he won't. Participating in exhibitions isn't a necessity for him.

To be honest, Chen Jingle didn't have high hopes for the ranking.

He is very confident in his own abilities, but not so much in winning an award.

Because reality is a society based on personal connections, no matter what kind of competition it is, it's not that you can guarantee first place just because you have enough skill.

It's not like the college entrance exam, where there are standard answers and rankings based on standard scores.

In calligraphy and painting exhibitions like this, when the contestants are of similar skill levels, isn't it up to the judges to decide who gets first and who gets second place?
Why are so many people complaining about the 8th Lanting Awards?
Isn't it because the works of the gold medal winners are not convincing enough?

Fortunately, the judging panel was fair enough to award him the prize.

Little did they know that the judges had no choice.

If everyone's abilities were similar, there would still be some room for maneuver. However, Chen Jingle's abilities were too strong. As soon as his work was released, it completely crushed the contestants who won the second and third prizes.

The results will be published online, and astute netizens will immediately recognize who is good and who is bad. If the disparity is too great and the differential treatment too obvious, they will be the ones who lose face.

Considering the criticism Lanting received last year, the judging panel decided to play it safe and award the hot prize to Chen Jingle.

Let the rest of the people try to win the second and third prizes.

……

Although Chen Jingle was very happy to win the China Youth Cup, he was not so happy as to get carried away.

The National Exhibition is merely an entry ticket to the China Calligraphers Association, and winning first place at the National Exhibition is also just an entry ticket to the Lanting Pavilion.

The reality is so cruel!

The National Exhibition is held every year, and there are more than one or two winners, so there can be many winners. However, the Lanting Exhibition is held every three years, and there is only one gold award for creation.

Just like how online novels become the Twelve Heavenly Kings, which seems impressive, there are still top-tier authors above the Twelve Heavenly Kings.

Above the top players, there's Platinum!
Even platinum has different strengths and weaknesses.

His current first place in the National Exhibition is equivalent to a spot among the "Twelve Heavenly Kings" (a prestigious Chinese art form), but he'll only be considered a true master once he enters the Lanting Awards. If he can achieve a ranking in the Lanting Awards, it will be almost like being a platinum-level artist.

Even at the Orchid Pavilion, most people only remember the first place winner; few care about the second or third.

Genius is merely the threshold for Lanting.

"The next Lanting Festival won't be until 2027, there's still time, no rush."

Chen Jingle felt that his strength might be able to improve further in the next two years, and he would be more confident in challenging Lanting.

Of course, the first prize at the National Exhibition still carries some weight.

A first prize at the National Exhibition is enough to elevate Chen Jingle's status within the Calligraphers Association. After all, there aren't many Calligraphers Association members in Southeast Province who can win first place at the National Exhibition.

Chen Jingle suddenly had a whimsical idea to see other people's works, so he went online to search for the results of this year's China Youth Cup competition.

really!

Shortly after he received the call, the organizers posted the competition results online, along with images of some of the winning entries.

Meanwhile, the official websites and public accounts of the China Calligraphers Association, the Hunan Provincial Propaganda Department, and local calligraphy associations in Hunan Province all reprinted this news, attracting the attention of many calligraphers in the industry.

Chen Jingle clicked on the news link, scrolled down directly, skipping the boring nonsense, and scrolled all the way to the contestants' works section.

I don't need to look at his own work; I mainly look at other people's. And you know what? There were quite a few top-notch writers in this year's China Youth Cup. The second and third prize winners all wrote well, covering various styles, but after reading through them all, I really didn't see anyone better than him.

Among them are some well-known young calligraphers.

Suddenly, I gained a better understanding of the current strength of young and middle-aged calligraphers in China.

Looking at the comments section, there were quite a few replies, the vast majority of which came from people in the calligraphy circle.

"This first place in calligraphy is well-deserved!"

"This cursive script is so cool! I could never write something like it in my entire life."

"Wow, when did such a master of cursive script emerge in China?"

"This level of ability is far beyond our reach!"

"Those who won the second and third prizes, although they are quite capable, are still far behind the first place winner."

"The lines are unrestrained, the momentum is magnificent, the brushstrokes are vigorous, and the strokes are unrestrained. It has completely developed its own style. I kneel down in admiration of the master!"

"When did such a big shot emerge in our South East Calligraphy Association? How come I've never heard of this name before?"

"Logically speaking, someone of this level shouldn't be unknown, but I haven't seen this name in previous national exhibitions. Could it be that they only started participating this year?"

"The person upstairs guessed correctly. This person did only start exhibiting this year. Their main focus is on Douyin, where they have hundreds of thousands of followers. Even without exhibiting, their price per square foot is still over ten thousand."

"So scary!"

"I'm so envious I could cry."

"..."

The comments section was unusually harmonious; no one suspected any behind-the-scenes manipulation in the competition, and everyone agreed that the winning entry was truly exceptional!

Chen Jingle felt a little secretly pleased.

Keep praising, don't stop!
……

After receiving the certificate from the organizers of the China Youth Cup, Chen Jingle originally wanted to keep a low profile, but Li Beixing said that he wanted to slap those who had mocked him in the face and strongly suggested that he take a picture of the certificate and post it on Douyin so that those guys could open their eyes and see it clearly!
In fact, people who truly appreciate his work don't care about any awards or certificates.

Those who raise doubts are unlikely to be Chen Jingle's potential customers.

But since Teacher Li has said so, let's just send it out.

The most important thing is that Teacher Li is happy!

So Chen Jingle took a picture and posted it on Douyin, along with the picture of the entry he had previously taken, and added the caption: "Lucky me, I won first prize."

It's a bit pretentious.

Of course, he certainly has the right to act that way.

As expected, the video caused quite a stir as soon as it was released.

After all, he has a large number of fans now, and they are all real people, a large part of whom are calligraphy enthusiasts.

The comments section was immediately filled with praise and admiration.

Anyone familiar with calligraphy knows the prestige of the National Exhibition. Although there are many mediocre people these days, many people never make it into the National Exhibition in their entire lives, let alone win the first prize.

Therefore, most people still admire and envy Chen Jingle's award.

However, a very small number of people still made sarcastic remarks in the comments section, saying that Chen Jingle's award does not represent anything, and that clowns are in the halls of power while the real masters are in the folk.

This infuriated Teacher Li.

"I already said there's no need to lower myself to the level of a bunch of idiots, just ignore them."

Chen Jingle hugged her and comforted her.

What kind of creatures don't exist online? How can you be so sure that the person on the other end of the screen is definitely a human?
After surfing for twenty years, he's long since come to terms with it.

Undoubtedly, these people were subjected to a barrage of insults from other netizens.

"It's one thing if you say it in other people's comments section, but you can't even tell what level the blogger is at, and you still have the nerve to say you're a calligraphy student?"

"Anyone who has actually practiced calligraphy for even a few days wouldn't say such stupid things!"

"Everyone who knows how difficult the National Exhibition is knows. Do you really think it's easy to do just by having hands? I'm also a member of the China Calligraphers Association, and I wouldn't dare say I could definitely get in, let alone win a prize. The blogger's success is purely based on hard work, understand?!"

"Even someone like me who doesn't understand calligraphy can see that the blogger's writing is better than others. The strength and momentum of this stroke are amazing. I really don't know what those people who say it's bad are thinking! It's not like it's ugly calligraphy!"

"..."

With the help of viewers and netizens, Chen Jingle didn't need to personally go on stage to debate with others.

This kind of person is not worthy of his attention.

……

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Brother Xiaoming. Do you think the quality of these pieces is acceptable?"

Chen Jingle sent a message to Huang Xiaoming.

After several days of hard work, he finally completed the order he owed. He took photos and sent them to the customer to see if they were satisfied. If not, they would have one chance to make revisions.

It took a while. We originally planned to finish it in August, but there were too many things to do, so it was delayed until September.

"Of course! Absolutely!"

Huang Xiaoming exclaimed with delight: "As expected, it has to be Teacher Chen!"

Having studied calligraphy, he could naturally tell the level of Chen Jingle's works, which were even higher than many of the works he had previously posted on Shake.com.

It's clear that it was written with great care!

He also saw the video of Chen Jingle winning the first prize in the National Youth Calligraphy Exhibition, and even liked and recommended it.

For a buyer like him, the higher the value of Chen Jingle's assets, the better.

For calligraphy and paintings by famous people, you first need to be famous.

This time it was the first prize in the China Youth Cup, and next time it might be the first prize in another national exhibition. As Chen Jingle's fame grows, the price of his works will naturally increase.

Maybe next month it will rise to 10 for a whole four-foot scroll.

Thinking of this, Huang Xiaoming was overjoyed.

I originally just wanted to do some investment and collection, but I didn't expect it to be effective so quickly.

Who doesn't enjoy finding a bargain? Even if it's just a few tens of thousands, the feeling of finding a bargain is truly delightful!

"Should we keep the original address?" Chen Jingle asked.

Huang Xiaoming: "Yes!"

Chen Jingle: "Okay, I'll send it to you together. Just make sure to check it in time. If there's any damage, I'll replace it for you."

"Okay, thank you so much!"

If Chen Jingle hadn't said he was too busy lately and would postpone taking orders until September, Huang Xiaoming would have really planned to buy a few more paintings.

He was filled with regret at that moment, wishing he had ordered ten at once.

……

Besides calligraphy and painting, Chen Jingle also continued his studies in cooking.

After all, delicious food is the simplest and cheapest source of happiness.

Summers are particularly unbearable in the Lingnan region. You have to rely on air conditioning and good food to get through them, otherwise you really can't live like this.

Therefore, it's necessary to learn more delicious recipes to reward yourself.

That noon, it was just him, Teacher Li, and Chen Qiyun again.

As usual, Chen Jingle prepared a simple four-dish meal with soup.

As soon as Teacher Li picked up her bowl and chopsticks, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable and had an urge to vomit. She quickly covered her mouth and ran to the toilet.

Chen Jingle was stunned, fearing something might happen, and quickly followed.

Chen Qiyun also put down her chopsticks.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Chen Jingle asked hurriedly.

"I don't know, I just suddenly felt a bit nauseous."

Li Beixing shook her head in confusion. Strangely enough, the feeling came suddenly. She wondered if she had eaten something wrong, causing stomach discomfort and a feeling of nausea, but she couldn't vomit.

No sooner had I finished speaking than that nausea returned. I quickly pushed the bathroom door open again.

Chen Jingyue frowned and quickly squatted down to pat Li Beixing's back.

At the same time, he took her hand to check her pulse to see what was going on, since he had learned some basic Chinese medicine knowledge when he studied Chinese herbal medicine pharmacology.

Upon taking his pulse, he was immediately stunned.

If I'm not mistaken, this seems to be a slippery pulse or a pregnancy pulse, right?
That is to say...

(End of this chapter)